Self-propelled crawling toy



Nov. 4, 1969 J. w. RYAN E A SELF-PROPELLED CRAWLING TOY 4 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Feb. 5. 1967 N ms Em N W n N A. E w m L www 00 T P D W a Nov. 4,1969 J. w. RYAN ET AL SELF-PROPELLED CRAWLING TOY fivwflrols JOHN w.RYAN 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 5, 1967 POBERT A. MacMEFK/N D/IN/EZHENRY MEWS r W A Nov. 4, 1969 J, w. RYAN ET AL SELF-PROPELLED CRAWLINGTOY 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 al n "I I! iii In Filed Feb.

/ VFW???) J'OHIV \M PYAN Nov. 4, 1969 J. w. RYAN ET AL. 3,475,854

SELF-PROPELLED CRAWLING TOY Filed Feb. 5, 1967 4 SheetsSheet 4 AvnwrasJOHN w. RYAN ROBERT '4. M4: msmu DAN/EL mwex M5665 if @Wr United StatesPatent 3,475,854 SELF-PROPELLED CRAWLING TOY John W. Ryan, Los Angeles,Robert A. MacMeekin, Huntington Beach, and Daniel Henry Meggs, Torrance,

Calih, assignors to Mattel, Inc., Hawthorne, Caiifi, a

corporation of California Filed Feb. 3, 1967, Ser. No. 613,864 Int. Cl.A63h 17/00 U.S. Cl. 46-206 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Afuselage-shaped body has ground-contacting tail and carries a poweredaxle transversely across a front portion thereof. The ends of the axleextend outwardly from the sides of the body and carry radially extendingspokes having ground-engaging ends inscribing a circle extendingsubstantially forwardly of the body facilitating movement of the toyover rough terrain. The toy carries a Winch which is selectively drivenin clockwise and counterclockwise directions by an electric motorthrough a gear train and clutch arrangement which also supplies power tothe axle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The background of the invention is set forthin two parts:

Field of the invention The present invention pertains generally to thefield of electric toys and more particularly to electric, motoroperatedtoys simulating land vehicles having wheel substitutes includingspider-type engagement means constructed and arranged to give thesimulated land vehicle erratic movement while permitting it to operateas a step or abutment ascending type vehicle.

Description of the prior art Toys which place a child in an imaginedspace-age environment are presently quite popular. In addition, childrenof all ages are fascinated by electric, motoroperated toys of thesimulated land vehicle type. Although a number of toys placing a childin a simulated spaceage environment and a number of electric,motor-operated, simulated land vehicle toys are available, the toysadapted to place a child in a simulated space-age environment are not ofthe simulated land vehicle type and, conversely, the simulated landvehicles are not of a type especially designed for placing a child in aspace-age play environment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the foregoing, it is a primaryobject of the present invention to provide a new and useful simulatedland vehicle having wheel substitutes including spider-type engagementmeans especially designed for negotiating obstacles simulating mooncraters and for imparting an erratic movement to the toy.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a toy of the typedescribed which includes a powered Winch and a gear train operativelyassociating the Winch with an electric motor and wheel substitutesthrough a clutch means operable to energize either the wheel substitutesor the winch.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a toy of thetype described including means for operating the toy in two differentmodes through a gear train and clutch arrangement which operatesautomatically to shift the toy from one operating mode to the other whena particular operating mode is subjected to a predetermined load.

According to the present invention, a self-propelled, crawling toy isprovided. The toy includes a body having a front end, side walls and atail. Motor means are mounted in the body in operative association withan axle means rotatably mounted in the front end of the body and havingfirst and second ends extending laterally outwardly from the side walls.Hub means are keyed, through override clutches, to the ends of the axlefor rotation thereby and spokes extend radially outwardly from the hubmeans. The spokes include ground-engaging portions for moving the toyover a suitable surface upon rotation of the hub means and the spokesare of sufficient length that the circle inscribed by the groundengagingportions extends forwardly of the body, whereby the ground-engagingportions are adapted to lift the body over obstacles placed in the pathof travel of the toy. The spokes on one hub are spaced 45 out of phasewith the spokes on the other hub so that the toy is given an erraticmovement simulating a waddling action and facilitating movement of thetoy over the obstacles.

A winch drum is rotatably mounted on the body and a gear trainoperatively associates the winch with the motor means through aclutching arrangement for selectively actuating the hub means to movethe toy forwardly over the surface, to rotate the drum counterclockwiseor to rotate the drum clockwise. When the winch is subjected to apredetermined load, the clutch means automatically disengages, the geartrain from the winch drum locks the winch and reengages the hub means.The hub means are connected to the axle through a slip-clutcharrangement for minimizing damage to the toy when a child restrains onehub means from rotating while attempting to rotate the other hub meansthrough its associated spokes.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel areset forth with particularity in the appended claims. The presentinvention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, togetherwith further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood byreference to the following description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to likeelements in the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of aself-propelled crawling toy constituting a presently preferredembodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged, side elevational view of the toy of FIGURE 1with parts broken away to show internal construction;

FIGURE 3 is a partial, cross-sectional view taken along line 33 ofFIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged, partial perspective view of the power plant ofthe toy of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the power plant shown inFIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a partial, cross-sectional view taken along line 66 ofFIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a partial, cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7 ofFIGURE 6; and

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged, partial elevational view of a hub and spokeassembly of the toy of FIGURE 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring again to the drawings,and more particularly to FIGURES 1 and 3, a self-propelled, crawling toyconstituting a presently preferred embodiment of the invention,generally designated 10, includes a body 12 in which a suitable motormeans 14 is mounted in operative association with an axle means 16. Theaxle means 16 is journalled in a first hollow boss 18 extendinglaterally outwardly from a first side wall portion 20 of body 12 and asecond hollow boss 22 extending laterally outwardly from a second sidewall portion 24 of body 12. The axle means 16 incudes a first end 26extending laterally outwardly from its associated boss 18 and a secondend 28 extending laterally outwardly from its associated boss 22. Awheel substitute 30 is keyed, through a slip-clutch 31, to each end 26,28 by an associated key 32 for rotation by the shaft means 16.

Each wheel substitute 30 includes a hub means 34 having a hollow spindle36 keyed to the axle means 16 by the key 32 and rotatably receiving ahub member 38 which is retained in position thereon by a snap ring 40received in an annular groove 42 provided on the spindle 36. The spindle36 carries a circular flange 44 which is provided with a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced detents 46 forming a part of clutch 31 andcoacting with a detent spring means 48 received in an annular recess 50provided in the hub member 38. Rotation of the spring means 48 isprevented by a plurality of circumferentially spaced protuberances 52provided on the hub member 38 in the recess 50. The spindle 36 isprovided with a reduceddiameter portion 54 adjacent the flang 44 forreceiving a bushing member 56 engageable by a hub cap 58. Each hub cap58 engages the axle means 16 with a friction fit for restraining thespindle 36 against axial displacement outwardly from the body 12. Eachwheel substitute 30 also includes a suitable number, such as four, armsor spokes 60 formed integrally with the hub member 38 and extendingradially and laterally outwardly therefrom. Each spoke 60 includes aground-engaging portion 62 which is provided with an integrally formedfoot member 64 having a plurality of transverse grids 66 providedthereon for increasing frictional contact between an associated footmember 64 and the surface over which the toy travels. Each hub means 34is keyed to the shaft means 16 in such a manner that the arms 60 on onehub means 34 are positioned approximately midway between the arms 60 onthe other hub means 34. With this arrangement, two foot members 64 onone wheel substitute 30 may be in engagement with the surface while onlyone foot member 64 on the other wheel substitute 30 is in engagementwith the surface. This produces an erratic, waddling-typ of movement andassists the toy 10 in negotiating obstacles. Each arm 60 is relativelylong in comparison with the length of the body 12 so that a circleinscribed by the foot members 64 extends forwardly of the body 12further facilitating the negotiation of obstacles placed in the path oftravel of the toy 10. Positioning the wheel substitutes 30 laterallyoutwardly from the body 12 and extending the arms 60 laterally outwardlyfrom their associated hub means 34 not ony minimizes the likelihood thatthe toy 10 will upset while negotiating obstacles, but also permits thetoy 10 to be supported on its side by four foot members 64 on one wheelsubstitute 30 while the arms 60 on the other wheel substitute 30 aredisposed in a horizontal plane above the body 12 which will then rotateabout the axle means 16 while the wheel substitutes 30 remain stationarywhen motor means 14 is energized.

The toy 10 also includes a winch means 68 comprising a drum 70 uponwhich a cable 72 is coiled and a spindle 74 to which a winch gear 76 isafiixed. The spindle 74 includes a first end 78 atfixed to the drum 70and rotatably mounted in the side wall 24 and a second end 80 rotatablymounted in a bearing block 82 provided in the body 12. The winch 68 maybe rotated in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions and theaxle means 16 may be rotated in a direction which moves the toy 10forwardly by the motor means 14 through a gear train 84 and a clutchmeans 86. The motor means 14 may comprise an electric motor 88 having anoutput shaft 90 to which a pinion gear 92 is afiixed. Current may besupplied to the motor 88 by a pair of dry cells 94, 96 which are mountedin a battery housing 98 provided in the body 12. The dry cells 94, 96are retained in position in the housing 98 by a cover member 100 whichis hingedly connected to the body 12 by a pair of hinges 102, 104 andwhich is retained in a closed position by a clip 106 (FIGURE 2). Theappearance of the body 12 is enhanced by providing the cover 100 withsimulated, finned cylinder heads 108, 110.

Referring now to the several views in the drawings, the gear train 84includes a first gear 112 rotatably mounted on a rotatable shaft 114having a first end 116 journaled in the side wall 20 and a second end118 journaled in the side wall 24. The first gear 112 includes alargediameter portion 120 meshing with the pinion gear 92 on motor 88and a small-diameter gear 122 meshing with a large-diameter portion 124of a second gear 126 rotatably mounted on the axle means 16. The secondgear 126 includes a small-diameter gear 128 meshing with a largediametergear 130 having a hub 132 keyed to the shaft 114 by a pin 134 forimparting rotation to the shaft 114.

The drive train 84 also includes a main drive gear 136 keyed to the axlemeans 16 by a pin 138 and meshed with a drive pinion 140 rotatablymounted on the shaft 114. The drive pinion .140 carries a hub 142 havingcircumferentially spaced protuberances 144 provided on the end thereofand engageable by matching detents 146 provided on a clutch member 148forming a part of the clutch means 86. The clutch member 148 is keyed tothe shaft 114 by a key 150 which connects the clutch member 148 to theshaft 114 for rotation thereby without limiting axial movement of theclutch member 148 on the shaft 114. The clutch member 148 may be shiftedaxially on the shaft 114 in to, and out of, operative association withthe drive pinion 140 by a gear shift means 152 including an L-shapedbell crank 154 having one arm 155 pivotally connected to the body 12 byan upstanding pin 156 having an end 158 affixed to the bottom Wall 160of the body 12. The other arm 162 of crank 154 carries a pair ofdepending, spaced-apart pins 164, 166 caging a flange 168 carried by theclutch member 148. The arm 162 includes a bifurcated end 170 operativelyassociated with a gear shift lever 172 forming a part of the shiftingmeans 152. The lever 172 is swingably and slidably mounted in the body12 on a rod 174 supported by a pair of plates 176, 178 depending fromthe top Wall 180 of body 12. The top wall 180 is provided with aT-shaped slot 182 (FIGURE 7) through which the upper end 184 of lever172 extends. The slot 182 includes a stem portion 184, in which thelever 172 is normally seated under the influence of a spring 185encompassing rod 174 for sliding the lever 172 thereon rearwardly in thedirection of arrow 186 (FIGURE 2), and a crossbar portion 187, intowhich the lever 172 may be moved by sliding it forwardly on rod 174. Thelever 172 includes a bifurcated end 188 caging a flange 190 carried by asecond clutch member 192 keyed to the shaft 114 by a key 194. The key194 connects the clutch member 192 to the shaft 114 for rotation therebywhile leaving the clutch member 192 free to slide thereon when lever 172is swung about rod 174. Swinging lever 172 to the left, as viewed inFIGURE 6, slides clutch member 192 to the right into operativeassociation with a first winch-driving gear 196 rotatably mounted onshaft 114 in meshed relation with an idler gear 198 (FIGURE 3) rotatablymounted on a shaft 200 supported in body 12 on upstanding brackets 202.The clutch member 192 may be drivingly connected to the gear 196 byengaging protuberances, like the one shown at 204 in FIGURE 6, inmatching detents 206 provided on one end of clutch member 192. The otherend of clutch member 192 is also provided with suitable detents, likethe one shown at 208 in FIG- URE 6, engageable with matchingprotuberances 210 provided on a second winch-driving gear 212 rotatablymounted on shaft 114 in meshed relation with the gear 76 for rotatingdrum 70 in one direction. The gear 212 also meshes with a large-diametergear 214 rotatably mounted on shaft 16 and including a hub portion 216which carries a small-diameter gear 218 meshing with the idler 198.Thus, the clutch member 192 drives the drum 70 in one direction throughgears 196, 198, 218, 214 and 212 and in the opposite direction throughthe gear 212.

Rotation of the drum 70 in one direction coils the cable 72 thereuponand rotation of the drum 70 in the other direction pays-out the cable 72which is trained through an aperture 220 provided in a tail member 222forming an integral part of the body 12. The cable 72 includes a freeend 224 which carries a hook 226 for lifting objects, in a manner to behereinafter described. When the drum 70 meets a predeterminedresistance, which, for example, may be created when the hook 226 engagestail 222, the clutch member 192 will become disengaged returning to theposition shown in FIGURE 3 Where the lever 172 is engaged in stem 184and the clutch member 148 is engaged with the gear 140 for againrotating the wheel substitutes 30 through gear 136 and shaft 16. Thus,the toy will lift a load until hook 226 engages tail 222 and thenautomatically move forwardly. Unwanted rotation of drum 70 at this timemay be prevented by engagement of a pin 154a, which depends from lever154, with one of a plurality of protuberances 196a carried by the gear196. The introduction of foreign objects through the slot 182 maybeminimized by providing an arcuate plate 228 on lever 172 subjacent theslot 182.

The body 12 includes an upper body half 230 and a lower body half 232which are each made from a suitable rigid plastic material by moldingoperations and which are joined together by a plurality of upstandingpins 234 on bottom wall 160 engaging hollow bosses 236 depending fromthe top wall 180. The tail 222 is formed integrally with the lower bodyhalf 232 and includes a stepped portion 238 which abuts the upper bodyhalf 230. The body 12 also includes a pair of simulated exhaust horns240 each of which includes an upper portion 242 formed on the upper bodyhalf 230 and a lower portion 244 formed on the lower body half 232. Theupper portion 242 carries .a pin 246 which may be engaged in a hollowboss 248 carried by the lower portion 244 for connecting the twoportions together. The upper body half 230 includes a recessed portion250 forming a cockpit in the body 12 and an upstanding member 252forming a simulated control panel. The tail 22 is provided with a rudder254 (FIGURE 2) forming a groundengaging member when the toy 10 is beingpropelled by the wheel substitutes 30.

The flow of electrical current from the batteries 94 and 96 to theelectric motor 88 may be controlled by a switch lever 256 which isswingably connected to the cover 100 by a hooked member 258 and whichcarries a pair of electrical contacts, like the one shown at 260 inFIGURE 2, engageable with the batteries 94 and 96.

In use, the toy 10 may be moved over a suitable surface by actuatingswitch 256 with the lever 172 positioned in stem portion 184 of notch182. Since the arms 60 extend well forwardly of the body 12 and the arms60 on one wheel substitute 30 are positioned intermediate the arms 60 onthe other Wheel substitute 30, the toy 10 may be caused to negotiateobstacles placed in its path of travel. Forward travel may be arrestedat any time by pushing the lever 172 forwardly disengaging clutch member148. The hook 226 may then be played out behind toy 10 by swinging thelever 172 to the right, as viewed in FIG- URE 6, engaging clutch member192 with gear 212 for rotating the drum 70 in a counterclockwisedirection, as viewed in FIGURE 1. The hook 226 may then be attached toan object and this object may be drawn up to the toy 10 by swinging thelever 172 to its FIGURE 6 position engaging clutch member 192 with gear196 for rotating the drum 70 in a clockwise direction through idler 198,gear 218, gear 214, gear 212 and gear 76. When hook 226 engages tail222, the resistance offered thereby snaps the clutch member 192 out ofengagement with gear 196 whereupon spring seats lever 172 in stemportion 184 of slot 182 locking winch-driving gear 196 by pin 154a andmoving clutch member 148 into engagement with drive pinion 142 forimparting rotation to the main drive gear 136. This imparts rotation tothe wheel substitutes 30 for again moving the toy 10 forwardly.

The toy 10 may be positioned on an elevated surface, such as a table orthe like, with the tail 222 extending over the edge thereof. The hook226 may then be used to elevate objects up to the table. Alternatively,the toy 10 may be placed on its side so that it is supported by the fourground-engaging members 64 provided on the side adjacent to the drum 70so that the tail 222 is elevated. The hook 226 may then again be usedfor elevating objects.

What is claimed is:

1. A self-propelled, crawling toy, comprising:

body means;

motor means mounted in said body means;

transverse axle means rotatably mounted in said body means in operativeassociation with said motor means for rotation thereby;

hub means on opposite sides of said body, keyed to said axle means forrotation thereby; and

a plurality of spokes extending radially from each said hub means andhaving outer free ends circumferentially spaced, said ends eachincluding a rigid groundengaging portion for moving said toy over asupporting surface upon rotation of said hub means, said spokes being ofsufficient length to extend substantially forwardly of said body,whereby said ground-engaging portions are engageable with upper surfacesof obstacles to lift said body over said obstacles when placed in thepath of travel of said toy, by the reaction to downward pressure exertedby said portions on said upper surfaces.

2. A toy as stated in claim 1 wherein said body means includes a frontend, a pair of side walls and a tail and wherein said axle meansincludes a first end extending laterally outwardly from one of said sidewalls and a second end extending laterally outwardly from the other ofsaid side walls, said hub means including a separate hub keyed to eachof said ends and said tail engaging said surface forming a third pointof contact with said surface for supporting said toy during travel uponsaid surface.

3. A toy as stated in claim 1 including winch means rotatably mounted insaid body means, a gear train for operatively associating said winchmeans with said motor means, and selectively operable means fordrivingly connecting said gear train to said motor means.

4. A toy as stated in claim 1 including slip-clutch means connectingsaid hub means to said axle means for permitting forced relativerotation between said hub means and said axle means.

5. A toy as stated in claim 3 including clutch means for automaticallydisengaging said motor means from operative association with said axlemeans when said motor means is operatively associated with said winchmeans.

6. A toy as stated in claim 5 wherein said gear train comprises:

a pinion gear carried by said motor means for rotation thereby;

a shaft rotatably mounted in said body means;

a first gear rotatably mounted on said shaft, said first gear includinga large-diameter portion meshing with said pinion gear and asmall-diameter portion;

a second gear rotatably mounted on said axle means, said second gearincluding a large-diameter portion meshing with said small-diameterportion on said first gear and a small-diameter portion;

a third gear keyed to said shaft for imparting rotation thereto, saidthird gear being meshed with said smalldiameter portion of said secondgear;

a drive pinion rotatably mounted on said shaft, said drive pinionincluding a cdutching face;

a fourth gear keyed to said axle means, said fourth gear meshing withsaid drive pinion;

a first clutch member slidably mounted on said shaft adjacent saidclutching face on said drive pinion, said first clutch member beingkeyed to said shaft for rotation thereby and being adapted to be slidinto engage-ment with said clutching face on said drive pinion forimparting rotation thereto;

a fifth gear rotatably mounted on said axle means, said fifth gearincluding a small-diameter portion and a large-diameter portion;

a sixth gear rotatably mounted on said shaft,

said sixth gear including a clutching face;

an idler gear meshing said sixth gear with the smalldiameter portion ofsaid fifth gear;

a seventh gear afiixed to said winch means for imparting rotationthereto;

an eighth gear rotatably mounted on said shaft, said eighth gearincluding a clutching face and being meshed with said seventh gear andsaid large-diameter portion of said fifth gear; and

a second clutch member keyed to said shaft for rotation thereby, saidsecond clutch member being slidably mounted on said shaft forselectively engagement with said clutching face on said sixth gear andsaid clutching face on said eighth gear, whereby said winch means may berotated in first and second directions, respectively.

7. A toy as stated in claim 6 wherein said winch means is rotatablymounted on one of said side walls and includes a drum and a cord woundupon said drum, said tail being provided with an aperture and said cordbeing trained through said aperture.

8. A toy as stated in claim 7 whereby said spokes extend laterallyoutwardly from said hub means adjacent said one side wall for supportingsaid toy on said spokes with said tail elevated above said surface.

9. A toy as stated in claim 8 wherein said second clutch memberautomatically disengages from an associated clutch face when said drumencounters a predetermined resistance against rotation.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,061,972 11/1962 Wigal 46206FOREIGN PATENTS 607,156 1/1946 Great Britain.

LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner CHARLES R. WENTZEL, AssistantExaminer

